Civil society organisations, opposition party figures and key business leaders have applauded the Federal Government for the progress and quality of work on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, describing it as a transformative step for Nigeria’s infrastructure and economic growth.
This was disclosed in a statement obtained by Ekwutosblog Online on Wednesday, stating that the commendations came during a tour of the 750-kilometre highway project in Lagos, where stakeholders urged Nigerians to rise above politics and support developmental efforts of such scale.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, had disclosed that the first section of the project, stretching from Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island to Eleko, Lagos, will be completed by May 2026.
He said 35 kilometres of the section had already been executed, with 12 kilometres left.
Umahi, while expressing satisfaction with the contractor, Hi-Tech, reinforced the use of concrete as a more durable option for road construction.
“In executing this project, we saved properties like the Landmark Centre and evacuated refuse in the axis with a depth of 10m to carry out the work and align the concrete to the roads.
“I came to inspect the variations to the projects and the level of execution. We will also unravel the issues around the WinHomes and allegations of about $200m of diaspora investments in the real estate project.
“We will involve the EFCC and DSS to investigate the matter alongside civil society organisations,” he stated.
Umahi added that work had already commenced on the second section, linking Eleko, Lagos, to Ode-Omi, Ogun State, with plans for periodic stakeholder and media briefings.
“We will continue to reiterate that roads and bridges are the infrastructure that build the GDP of every nation.
“And it is from this that the GDP of other sectors will grow. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has this knowledge; he has demonstrated it when he was Governor of Lagos State and you can see that Lagos State is an economy within an economy.
“That is why we’re doing everything possible to support that, to develop infrastructure according to his vision and mission,” Umahi added.
Opposition leader and policy expert, Otunba Segun Showunmi, convener of The Alternative and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, stressed the need for political consensus around national development.
“You cannot develop a nation without a long-term plan. You cannot sustain a long-term plan in a multi-party democracy unless you’re able to build consensus around development.
“To build consensus around development, it means you will listen with the intention of hearing, not just with the intention of criticising, and you will go and see with the intention of verifying.
“What I have seen so far today is commendable, I must tell you. Beyond our political ideological differences, we need to, as a nation, breathe in and out to explore how to achieve a consensus to develop our nation.
“When you look at countries like Singapore, India and UAE, their achievements have come through building consensus for national development.
“A nation at 65 must be in a hurry to link its infrastructure to model after other globally competitive economies,” Showunmi added.
He urged Nigerians to embrace bold investments in legacy infrastructure. “Nigerians must get the courage to build the kind of things that will position it as a country to turn the corner and go full throttle in investing in legacy infrastructure projects that will transform the economy,” he said.
Chairman of Proshare Group, Olufemi Awoyemi, described the highway as a test case for major infrastructure financing in Nigeria.
“This is an alternative, providing a primary route for cross-country connectivity, away from the current congestion, and a test case for big infrastructure projects and their financing,” Awoyemi noted.
Civil society groups also expressed satisfaction with the project. Declan Ihekaire, one of the leaders of about 20 CSOs on the tour, said Nigerians must commend the government when progress is evident.
“We, as CSOs, must not condemn every time. When we see where they are getting it right, we should talk so that we encourage them. Ultimately, the beneficiaries of good initiatives are the people,” Ihekaire said.
Apart from the 750-kilometre Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Umahi listed three other “legacy projects” designed to connect the country: the 477-kilometre Trans-Saharan Highway, the 422-kilometre Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Expressway, and the 1,068-kilometre Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway.
